Persons throughout the world have greatly enhanced their ability to enjoy music and other programming through the advent of personal and portable listening devices. These devices are typically cassette tape players, AM/FM radios, and CD players. These devices are very portable. They are easily clipped to a belt or held in the hand while the person is jogging, walking, weightlifting or any other number of activities. High quality earphones enable a person to enjoy stereophonic sound without disturbing other persons in the immediate vicinity.
One of the major drawbacks to stereo headphones is that they are often cumbersome. If the activity is vigorous, the headphones keep slipping off, which is a great annoyance to the user. There is a safety hazard if the headphones become entangled in the exercise equipment in use at the time. One of the most recent developments which greatly reduces or eliminates the problem of headphones slipping off is the earpiece which fits behind the ear of the user. There is an earpiece for each ear. The earpiece fits snugly behind the ear and supports the speaker directly over the ear. It is very difficult for the user to dislodge the earpiece regardless of the level of activity of the user.
A major drawback of the present earpieces is that the production of these devices is expensive. Complicated molds must be manufactured, and each earpiece is cast in halves. Once manufactured, the conductor must be carefully placed in the center of the earpiece halves. The halves are then carefully brought together and glued while trying to keep the conductor in the center. This is a time-consuming operation and a fair level of skill is required of the persons doing the assembly.
Another major drawback of the present earpieces is that they are difficult to clean. After a while, dirt and sweat build up on the surface of the earpiece. Because the speaker is an integral part of the earpiece, great care must be exercised with a liquid cleaner in order to prevent the speaker from getting wet.
The third drawback of the present earpieces is that if a person wishes to change colors of the earpieces to match a particular outfit, it is necessary to purchase separate earpieces and speakers for each color desired.
The present invention overcomes these three drawbacks by using a groove in the exterior of the earpiece to carry the conductor. This allows a greatly simplified mold to be lo used for the injection molding process. Assembly of the speaker to the earpiece consists of inserting the peg into the socket on the earpiece. It is then a simple matter of pressing the conductor in the groove. No messy, dangerous solvents are used. The skill level is greatly reduced to simply laying the conductor inside the groove.
The second drawback of cleaning is also resolved. It is a simple matter to pull the conductor from the groove and remove the speaker from the earpiece. The whole unit can then be cleaned and disinfected by total immersion if desired. When the earpiece is dry, the speaker is placed on the earpiece and the conductor placed back in the groove. Again, no special skills or materials are required to clean the earpiece as often as desired.
The third drawback of interchangeablity is also resolved. Several earpieces of different colors may be purchased for a nominal cost without the need to purchase a speaker for each earpiece. To change colors, it is a simple matter to remove the earpiece from the speaker and replace it with the earpiece of the desired color. Different sizes may also be interchanged to allow children and adults to use different sizes of earpieces without the need of purchasing separate speakers.
For the above reasons, there is a need for an earpiece which is easily manufactured and assembled, with the additional advantages of being easily cleaned and interchangeable with other earpieces of different colors or sizes.